Gardner, J. N. (2000). The changing roles of developmental educators. Journal of College Reading and Learning, 31(1), 5-18. Dr. Gardner challenges the field to reinvent iteself for better service in the future.
Taken from his keynote address to a national CRLA conference, the author argues that developmental educators need to build upon their successful history of service to students by reinventing themselves with new language, programs, and partnerships with a wider audience both inside and outside of higher education. The author brings another perspective to developmental education from his former position as Director of the National Center for the Study of the First Year Experience and a national board member for organizations such as the American Association of Higher Education.

By late April 2006 a major report will be issued by the Blue Ribbon Commission, a group of leaders in the field of developmental educaiton and learning assistance. This group was inspired by the exhortation by Dr. Gardner to make a critical examination of the field and the way that the current professional associations are meeting the needs of the stakeholders. The group conducted a strategic review by analyzing the strenghts, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. This report is a step towards what Dr. Gardner has encouraged the field to do, to reinvent itself for the future. A web-based threaded computer discussion site will be available in late April 2006 to collect comments about the report.